‘Seeds’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Another short short story and, as is so often the case, it doesn’t manage to get anywhere before it ends. In the evil corner we have James Clark, sales rep for Germingen (creators of GM corn – boo, hiss, etc), and in the good corner we have Alejandro Totol, honest Mexican farmer and preserve of cultural traditions. Can you guess who wins?

Well, you are sort of right in that Clark is wrongfooted and potential misses out of promotion. But then it’s also implied that Germingen are going to napalm the whole of Mexico so perhaps Totol shouldn’t celebrate too soon.

Near-future? Yes.
Optimistic? No.
Readable? Just about.
Good? No.